Five foreign-born pilgrims traveling with the Diocese of Brooklyn saw the power of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives before they even made it to World Youth Day.

“Three months ago all the World Youth Day information was submitted and registration was paid for,” explained Father Gerard Sauer, diocesan pilgrimage director, during a few minutes of downtime in the Vibe Hotel lobby on a recent evening in Sydney.

“On Thursday, July 3, we received word from World Youth Day International that foreign-born participants had to resubmit their information in paper to the Australian embassy located in Washington, D.C.”

That turn of events directly affected five members of the Brooklyn diocesan delegation – Trinidad and Tobago-born Diane Francisco from St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights; Mexican Sister Mary Mother of Hope, SSVM, and Argentinean Mother Maria de Foy, SSVM, both serving SS. Peter and Paul, Williamsburg; and Vietnamese-born Cong Le and Quynh Luu, traveling with St. John’s University.

Help from Their Friends

WYD organizers Father Sauer and Marilyn Santos, diocesan director of adolescent faith formation, knew what they had to do and set out to make it happen with the cooperation of their respective offices, as well as clergy and diocesan employees, who offered their help and prayers to get these pilgrim hopefuls to Sydney.

The five people, all legal U.S. residents with proper documentation from their countries of origin, were contacted and asked to photocopy their credentials, which were then notarized by Ana Puente of the Faith Formation Office. The paperwork was sent by overnight express mail to Washington, D.C., accompanied by letters of support from the diocese.

Pilgrim Diane Francisco was walking in her neighborhood when she received a call on her cell phone from Father Caleb Buchanan, administrator of St. Gregory the Great, asking her to fax a copy of her green card to the rectory as soon as possible.

Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Francisco, 41, came to the U.S. 11 years ago. She’s been most recently employed as a secretary in St. Gregory’s rectory, where she was responsible for compiling documents for seven parishioners attending World Youth Day, including her own. Until she received that phone call, as far as she was concerned, “my papers were in and I was going to Australia.”

Hearing the urgency in Father Buchanan’s voice, she didn’t waste time. She saw an acquaintance who allowed her to copy her permanent resident card at his office nearby and then found a store that would fax the document for $1 – exactly how much money she put in her pocket that day before leaving her home.

After the paperwork was submitted, hopeful pilgrims and organizers waited for word from Washington. It didn’t come in time for two of the five – Cong Le and Quynh Luu – to catch their Monday, July 7 flight out of JFK Airport. After being denied access at the international terminal’s check-in desk, arrangements were made for Le and Luu, residents of North Carolina traveling with St. John’s University as part of the Vincentian Mission Corps., to stay on the university’s Jamaica campus until they knew if they’d be able to continue their journey or have to return home. Luu, who’s been in the U.S. for six-and-a-half years, is scheduled to take her citizenship test on Aug. 19.

“For three days, the five pilgrims were not going,” Father Sauer said. On Wednesday, July 9, he was about to telephone the four women and one man to say that they’d have to stay behind until he heard that Father Richard Beuther, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul, Williamsburg, received an e-mail with all five visas attached.

The e-mail arrived 15 hours before the next group of pilgrims was scheduled to leave. Mother Foy, Sister Hope, Le and Luu were all on that 7:30 a.m. flight Thursday, July 10.

Steadfast in Her Faith

Francisco, who flew out three days later, said she never unpacked her bags and never stopped believing that the Holy Spirit would intercede. “When Father B (Buchanan) called and said, ‘It’s OK, you’re going,’ it was such a relief,” she said.

Following the Papal Mass on Sunday, July 20, Francisco said the entire week “brought joy to my heart. I’ve seen for the first time thousands of young people gathered with no fighting, no fussing, just joy and peace, worshipping and praising. I have no words to express this experience, this journey. ... I was adamant about being here and I’m happy God made it possible.”

Father Sauer added, “The theme of World Youth Day is that the Holy Spirit empowers us. It’s truly through the power of the Holy Spirit that we were able to rectify this situation.”